Fishers police Facebook post draws criticisms of racial profiling

A new study found out what our grandparents have been telling us all along --we respond differently to what people say depending on whether or not it’s written or spoken. Buzz 60's Chandra Lanier has the story.
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Fishers police drew accusations of racial profiling Thursday after it posted a picture of a black man outside a home, described him as driving a “beat up” car and said he had “no legitimate reason for being in the area.”

Police Chief Edward Gebhart rushed to do damage control Friday, saying the department was “wrong” to post the man’s picture on its Facebook page without a full explanation of why police wanted residents to be wary of him. He also met with the man.

“We were wrong by not releasing the full facts of the situation that prompted the original post,” Gebhardt said in his follow-up. “It is never our intent to discriminate or judge any individual in any incident in Fishers.”

Gebhart said the department had camera footage in which the man was commenting about the presence of surveillance cameras outside a home.

Many Facebook commentators said the initial post was a classic example of racial profiling and implicit bias.

“His crime: being black north of 96th street,” read one post. “Do I need a reason to be anywhere? Existence isn’t illegal.”

In the first post, the police media affairs officer wrote that man was “caught on camera” on a porch in the 700 Block of Sandcreek Boulevard on the city’s east side. But the message continued that, “At this time, there is no evidence that this man committed a crime and his intent is unknown.”

“However, based on the information gathered by FPD it appears the man had no legitimate reason for being in the area and he was deterred by the presence of the security cameras,” the post continued. “During the initial investigation, officers spoke with neighbors and they reported seeing the man arrive in the area driving a silver 'beat up' Chrysler passenger car. We are asking residents to immediately report suspicious activity, people, and vehicles to 911. Please Share!”

Gebhart later wrote that the police should have included why the man was considered suspicious.

“To provide more context of the situation, the gentleman in the image was heard saying via the camera, ’We can’t hit this house. They have cameras. I didn’t see them until I walked up,’” Gebhart wrote. “This statement is what led officers to suspect the intent to commit criminal activity.”

Later Friday, the chief and assistant chief met with the man and his family and agreed to take down the post.

But a written statement on the meeting raised more questions than it answered.

“The individual in the video did want to clear the air and agreed that his actions could be construed as suspicious,” the statement said. “The conversation was extremely productive.”

The statement did not clarify what it was the man was doing. The chief was unavailable for further comment.

“In the future, our department will make every attempt to not only provide critical information needed to keep our residents safe, but also the context and motivations behind the information,” the statement from police said.

Gebhart was not immediately available to explain why police said in the initial posting that the man’s intent was unknown.

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Gebhart said the police’s priority at the time was warning the public as quickly as possible of suspicious activity without revealing too much about its investigation.

Some commentators said the department needed sensitivity training and classes on implicit bias.

“His post translates to me that a black man in a 'beat up' car isn’t welcome in Fishers. Really?!?" one commentator said. “If that isn’t what you MEANT to convey, I ask you, Fishers PD, to clarify. If, even if you didn’t realize it, that is what you meant, then please schedule your anti-bias and diversity training ASAP.”

While the department faced intense criticism, several commentators praised the police for alerting the public.

Anita Downard of Fishers was one. She told IndyStar that the criticisms of the police were unwarranted.

‘It was not a racial use. This was suspicious activity, and the police were doing their job trying to protect us,” Downard said. “It doesn’t matter what color the person was.”

She said the police commonly post security camera footage of suspicious characters on its website. Homeowners organizations and neighborhood websites and apps do, too. Downard said.

“This is no different than we do every day in my subdivision,” she said.

One expert on bias said the department was reckless.

“If you are in a profession in which it is imperative that you gather all the facts before you present a case, then you might do well to get all the facts out before you make such a public posting on social media,” said Dennis Rudnick, associate director of multicultural education and a researcher at Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis.

It is especially crucial given recent well-publicized police shootings of minorities and several incidents of white residents calling police on law-abiding African Americans because they perceive them as a threat. If police have, essentially, demonized a person or labeled the person a public threat, it could signal to residents that they should take the law into their own hands, Rudnick said.

“There is a certain framing going on in society right now on who gets to be treated as human and who is considered ‘The other,’” Rudnick said. “This discretion or indiscretion could lead to a lot of people getting hurt.”

The Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department began implicit bias training for its recruits last year and supervisors this year after the shooting of an unarmed black motorist. It was unclear Friday whether Fishers police go through similar training.

Jane Henegar, executive director of the ACLU of Indiana, which has been pushing for such training at police departments, praised the chief for clarifying the post. But she said bias training could help in situations such is this in which police did not initially state what it was that the man was suspected of doing.

“Buried in implicit bias is what message your words, or lack of words, are sending and your understanding of how you think others will hear it,” Henegar said.

Call IndyStar reporter John Tuohy at 317-444-6418. Follow on Facebook and Twitter.